Cadillac Michigan Historical Tours

12/11/2024

I will start posting the scans from the Cadillac Area Chamber of Commerce tomorrow in sets over the next few weeks/months (there is about a thousand scans)! Lots of great stuff to come, mostly from the 1950's. The Paul Bunyan days celebration, the efforts to get the jet base, lots of great business pictures, and even a soapbox derby.

03/11/2024

This is the last update from the Post Office digitization. It is mostly documents and newspaper articles about the Post Office. Check out the hotel key one though! Would love to receive something like that!

23/10/2024

The dates for the 2025 Speaker Series have been set! Please save the date and we will fill in the days as soon as I have speakers lined up!

January 14
February 11
March 11
April 8
May 13

All programs start at 6 PM, doors open around 5:30ish. Hope to see you there!

19/10/2024

A lot of irons in the fire so to speak. Tonight, I get to give a small talk about the dark side of Cadillac at the Wexford County Historical Society. Tiyi will be there to tell some spooky stories as well!

Of historical signigance though.... I have started to digitize the historical pictures, booklets, etc. from the Cadillac Area Chamber of Commerce like I got to do for the Post Office. This is going to take some time, but be on the look out for some AMAZING history content from this site and the Chamber's Facebook.

To give you an idea, one album covers the early 1950s. Pictures of businesses, factories, Caberfae Peaks, and lots from the Paul Bunyan celebrations. So cool!

Does anyone else have any businesses or personal collections? :-)

07/10/2024

Some more photos and some documents from the Post Office history. Did you find any family members?

07/10/2024

More to come, but here is some more pictures from the Post Office. Documents coming tomorrow. Did you find a relative?

06/10/2024

Though not an official motto, these are the people who lived the lines; "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds"

Please tag any friends who may have family or comment with any names you may know so I can let the Wexford County Historical Society know that info when I drop them off.

There will be at least two more rounds of info. One will be more personnel pictures and one will be text documents.

Like and follow for more! Do you or your business have any interesting history? Would love to talk!

04/10/2024

Thanks to Postmaster Grose for allowing me and Chris Lamphere and Bryan Douglas Elenbaas to get a behind the scenes tour of the Cadillac Federal Building AKA the Post Office. While there, Grose also gave me a collection of documents and pictures which I have scanned in to digitize and share with everyone.

I am not entirely done with the project, but wanted to get the first post out. Here are photos of the construction of the Post Office. It features the Kelley and Mather Livery Stable that occupied the site prior to the Post Office, the clearing of the lot, the Masonic Lodge placing the cornerstone on May 11, 1915, and the construction of the Post Office. What a great slice of history I was entrusted to digitize. I love projects like this.

The originals, for anyone curious, will make their way to the Wexford County Historical Society for their collection.

Like and share for more posts! The next collection will feature pictures of workers from the Post Office.

29/04/2024

Sharing for our friends at the library who help me get the word out about the Speaker Series.

Want to learn more about your genealogy and preserving it for future generations? Come spend a session with local area historian and writer Shanna Avery and learn some research tips - and how to shape your finds into memoirs, writing and other fun, creative ways to tell and share the story of your family and ancestors! Free!

13/03/2024

I would like to thank everyone who came out to the presentation "Cadillac History In Pictures" at the Cadillac Wexford Public Library last night. It was the first time I have given this particular presentation and I'm glad it seems to have been well received.

Two questions came up last night that I was unable to answer, but have since looked up the answers:

1. The Kelly Block is the block that currently includes the Pawn Shop (the building north of Patterson's Flowers).

2. The picture of the Foster Brothers moving was indeed taken at the intersection of Pine and Mitchell, as the person in the audience suggested.

Again, thank you everyone for coming out and I hope you enjoyed it!

20/02/2024

Oh, hey! That's me! Is anyone excited for our next event? Tuesday, March 12th at Cadillac Wexford Public Library. Free to everyone!

06/02/2024

Happy 106th Birthday, Lyric Theatre! Opened today in 1918 and still entertaining people over a century later.

31/01/2024

Our next History Speaker Series event is Feb 13th at the Cadillac Wexford Public Library . Free for everyone, doors open at 5:30, presentation starts at 6 PM.

25/01/2024

The post I made about George Mitchell's 200th birthday definitely got some traction (for a history post!). It got picked up for an article in the paper, and Bryan Douglas Elenbaas, Marcus Peccia, and later the city council, helped me get this proclomation I drafted made official from the City of Cadillac. How cool is that?! January 8th is now George Mitchell Day in the city of Cadillac! Great to see the city recognizing its past with pride.

11/01/2024

Our mystery audio-only program will be February 13th at 6 PM at the Cadillac Wexford Public Library! What will it be? Will it live up to even the modest hype or will Richard look like Geraldo opening Al Capone's Vault?

11/01/2024

I would like to thank Steve Libert from the Great Lakes Exploration group and everyone who braved the weather yesterday! We got to hear about Steve’s efforts to find the long lost shipwreck, The Griffon, as well as seeing videos and photos of his expeditions. This was a really cool presentation!

Steve’s book, Le Griffon and the Huron Islands - 1679: Our Story of Exploration & Discovery, can be purchased through Amazon or local book vendors!

Thank you to the Cadillac Wexford Public Library for the warm meeting place for all of us history lovers!

03/01/2024

The Most Famous Shipwreck In Michigan History!!!

Steve Libert, President of the Great Lakes Exploration Group will give a presentation on The Griffon; the holy grail of Michigan shipwrecks! Free presentation held at Cadillac Wexford Public Library, January 9th at 6 PM. Doors open at 5:30 PM.

Special thanks to Cadillac Area Visitors Bureau for the amazing video! Hopefully the start of a great relationship bringing Cadillac History to everyone!

02/01/2024

The 200th anniversary of the birth of the "Father of Cadillac, Michigan," George MItchell, is on January 8th. I have been researching his life with great interest for a few years now and did a presentation on him at the library earlier this year. I have developed a great amount of respect for him and his image appears as part of our company logo in honor of him.

Happy Early Birthday, George!

Please like and share to help spread the word about Cadillac History!